Parliament authorities suggest that Hannan used EU funds for ACRE to support other pet projects, such as his free-trade think-tank, the Initiative for Free Trade (IFT), as well as Conservatives International.

“My expectation is that the number will be reached and there will be a vote at some point,” Crispin Blunt said in an interview in his House of Commons office under a full-size union flag. “One could argue that it would be better that that vote comes after the vote on the deal. If one were to sequence this properly: one would wait until we had the vote on the deal and then have the vote on the prime minister’s position as leader of the Conservative Party.”// does he mean "vote for it, forget your principles, and go for the throne?"

Sources played down any possibility of a united intervention from the “gang of five” Eurosceptic cabinet ministers, including Michael Gove and Andrea Leadsom, who had hopes of changing aspects of the final agreement.

Critics of the prime minister did little to hide their frustration that a confidence vote had not yet been triggered. Steve Baker, the former Brexit minister and member of the European Research Group (ERG), who has been coordinating the letters campaign, said: “Who knows now? Will MPs do what they said?”

A Remain voter, Penrose joined forces with Tory Brexiteers after the referendum and sat on the steering committee of the European Research Group, the hardline cadre of backbenchers led by Jacob Rees-Mogg // this is the problem for them, isn't it? too many of the supposed 80 or 40 MPs are turncoats with no actual commitment to them

It is a sign of how far Downing Street’s stock among Leavers has fallen that Kwarteng succeeds a minister who was appointed directly from the chairmanship of the European Research Group // er, this isn't what the words you are using mean. if No.10 doesn't choose Leavers, that's not evidence Leavers don't rate No.10, rather the opposite.

While it is true that he and Barclay can both point to having voted Leave in 2016, many Brexiteers will consider their continued presence in government – especially now May has openly acknowledged its much-diminished role – an abdication of the right to credibility // this isn't what the word "abdication" means.